Owner reopens La Casa Jalisco

La Casa Jalisco restaurant reopened Wednesday at its former location at 811 N. Ladd St., under the leadership of owner Juan Hernandez.

The restaurant originally opened on Ladd Street in 2006 as a second location for his flourishing restaurant of the same name in Streator, which opened in 2003.

Hernandez continued to personally oversee the Streator eatery and put a management team in place for Pontiac.

The restaurants, named for the region in Mexico Hernandez and his family are from, continued to thrive until 2010, when he was called back to Mexico for a family emergency. He could not oversee both restaurants long-distance and decided to close the Pontiac location.

Hernandez, who owns the Pontiac location, leased it to several other food establishments, but none found the success he once had.

When the establishment became vacant yet again, Hernandez decided to reopen his own restaurant and manage it personally.

“Everything will be fresh, every day, with the same menu that is at Streator. A lot of Pontiac customers come to Streator and have been urging me to reopen,” he said. “Everyone likes this menu and that is what we are serving here.”

Hernandez said the restaurant is not only known for its authentic Mexican cuisine, but its tequila, which is made by his family in the Jalisco, Mexico, region.

“The food and the margaritas are great,” he added. “We have the best fajitas and margaritas in town.”

Following the Streator menu, the reopened La Casa Jalisco offers Mexican dishes, as well as classic American meals and seafood selections. There are appetizers, salads, vegetarian choices, and more than 30 entrée choices. There is also a children’s menu, a la carte options and express lunch service from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Hernandez said he will have six to seven employees to start, but may increase the number if the restaurant does as well as it had in the past.

La Casa Jalisco is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.